A decision to convert a dilapidated school block in Victoria into a museum has come in for criticism by the teachers' union. 

The decision, the Malta Union of Teachers said on Friday, was taken "despite the pressing need to relocate the primary school of Victoria to a modern and adequate building." 

Plans to restore the disused Boys' Lyceum building and convert it into a Gozo Museum were given the green light by the Planning Commission on Thursday. The museum will bring together various historical collections currently in smaller museums and include space for temporary exhibitions. 

Those plans, however, mean that Victoria's primary and middle schools will have limited space in which to expand. 

In a statement, the MUT said that the government seemend adamant to "relegate the current middle school building to a smaller area and use the already limited open space facilities to extend the middle school building to house also the primary school." 

Students and teachers, the union said, deserved proper educational facilities "and not extensions of existing buildings with limited facilities and open space." 

The union reiterated its appeal for the government to build a new primary school with the necessary facilities, rather than extend the middle school.